Bride weds in hospital for dying mom to see

BRIDE AND MOTHER

Hours before she wed, Laurie Zakaria, beaming with the joy of a bride-to-be, crouched next to her terminally ill mother and, through the pain and confusion, caught sight of a smile.

It was a sign, Laurie said, that her mother, Wadad Zakaria, who lay dying from lung cancer, knew her final wish to see her only daughter marry would be realized.

To her, it was nothing short of a miracle.

“That was all we needed,” she said. “She was at ease.”

On Friday afternoon, after nearly three years of illness, Wadad, 60, watched from a wheelchair as Laurie, 28, married Ahmad Obeid in the tiny fourth-floor sunroom at Toronto’s St. Joseph’s Hospital. Several of the nearly 50 family members in attendance shed tears as the couple softly recited their vows before an arch adorned with white lilies.

The wedding, originally scheduled for Sunday, was hurriedly bumped ahead to Friday afternoon after doctors notified family that Wadad’s condition was deteriorating rapidly.

Love had blossomed quickly since Laurie and Ahmad, 31, first talked in late June, after meeting through their work. (Both families run produce wholesale businesses.) The couple, who live in Hamilton but often work at the Ontario Food Terminal, said their Aug. 18 engagement and October wedding were hastened by Wadad’s cancer, which has been in stage four for the past year.

For Laurie, Ahmad’s decision to push forward the wedding date was an ultimate act of love, one that will live long after Wadad dies.

“He knows that it meant the world to me,” she said after the ceremony, clasping Ahmad’s hand, tears resting on her cheeks. “In a weird way, this situation proved it to me. It was important and he stepped up.”

Wadad, who was unable to communicate Friday, had repeatedly told doctors and family members — anyone who would listen — that her final desire was to attend her daughter’s wedding, according to husband, Bill Zakaria.

“It is sad on one side and so happy on the other side,” Bill said. “I bet now she’s so happy that she’s seen her daughter get married right in front of her eyes. She wanted her to get married before God took her away.”

Doctors called the Zakarias at 4:30 a.m. Friday, advising them to hurry to St. Joseph’s. Wadad’s oxygen levels were depleted, and she was expected to die at any moment.

But as family members trickled into the hospital, Wadad’s condition improved. She opened her eyes and resumed breathing.

“I broke the news to her that we’re getting married in a few hours and asked if she could just hang in there,” Laurie said.

A smile spread across Wadad’s face.

Family members agreed that the subdued ceremony, conducted by a Christian minister, was a bittersweet moment of happiness and sadness, a speck of beauty in the midst of a slow death.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, anywhere else but here, in front of everyone,” Ahmad said after the ceremony. “It’s for Mom.”

As family later milled about the hospital wing, snacking on reception sandwiches and cookies, Laurie, her flowing white wedding gown resting in a pool on the hospital floor, knelt quietly next to Wadad’s bed.

There were no tears — only a firm belief, she said, that miracles do happen.